JCVI minimal genomes (2010, 2016)
The J. Craig Venter Institute built synthetic genomes and transplanted them into cells, creating first JCVI-syn1.0 (2010) and later JCVI-syn3.0 (2016) and syn3A. Syn3A carries 493 genes on a single 543 kilo-base-pair chromosome, among the smallest genomes capable of supporting growth.
A minimal-cell platform for defining the gene set required for life.
Genome-reduced Mycoplasma species became the model of choice for studying basic cellular processes.
M. pneumoniae's small genome and simple architecture make it ideal for the in-cell imaging shown in the Cell papers.
